Beyond the Shattered Looking Glass
by glancesherlock
Summary: A once joyous Wonderland is left in the ashes after Alice experiences the traumatizing death of her parents. Now with a tyrant Queen on the thrown, a group of rebels work together with Alice to restore peace to Wonderland and form a more perfect society.
1. Prologue: Alice's Nightmare

Disclaimer: I do not own Adventures in Wonderland or American McGee's Alice or any of the characters that appear in this fanfiction.

I've been juggling with this idea for a while, but I just now realized how much I wanted to write a fanfiction about it. I thought it would be interesting to see what happened when the dark story of American McGee's Alice met the happier, more upbeat Disney television show and this is my interpretation of that- with some of my own twists tossed into the mix. I'll be writing this at the same time as my "Return of the Copy-Catter Hatter" fic but don't worry, I'll finish that one first before I go too deep into this one.

* * *

Nothing seemed particularly out of place that day as Alice strolled down the path to the Mad Hatter's house. She was meeting all her Wonderland friends there for a special tea party. When she arrived, she found them all sitting around the large table laughing and talking. They all greeted her when she arrived and she took a seat next to the Queen of Hearts.

"Wake up, Dormy!" the March Hare said, tapping the teapot sitting in the middle of the table, "It's time for the tea party!"

Dormouse popped out of his teapot and yawned, "I wasn't asleep. I heard every word you guys said…" He drifted off and lay asleep on the side of the pot.

"I say we should begin with a riddle," the Queen suggested.

Alice blinked with surprise, "Really your majesty?"

"I've got one!" The Mad Hatter put his feet on the table, ignoring Alice, "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

"What?" Alice turned to the Tweedles to see if they had the answer but the two of them were sitting back-to-back, arms crossed and faces askance.

"I'm not speaking to you until you admit you spoiled my rattle!" Tweedledum exclaimed, "Absolutely nohow!"

"Contrariwise!" Tweedledee replied, "I didn't even touch your rattle!"

Alice was confused. Her friends were acting very strangely. She turned to the Walrus and the Duchess, hoping that they would be more of their normal selves. However she found that they had struck up a conversation about oysters and morals. Behind them, the Caterpillar sat in a corner by himself smoking a hookah. Alice did a double take; when on earth did Caterpillar begin smoking?

"Something's coming Alice."

She whipped her head around and became face-to-face with the Cheshire Cat. His grin appeared malevolent instead of its usual friendliness, "Better run."

Alice's breathe quickened and she began to feel uneasy. "What do you mean?"

The overpowering sound of breaking glass filled her ears and a powerful gust of wind slammed into her side, knocking her out of her chair. Teacups flew and smashed on the ground around her and the table was overturned. Alice slowly stood and pain shot through her arms. Examining them, she saw that they had been sliced by pieces of broken mirror. Several of them were still imbedded in her flesh. She yanked them out one and a time, moaning with anguish at every pull.

When her arms were clear, she turned to see what had happened to her friends. But all she saw was the Queen of Hearts towering in front of her. The Queen's face had become distorted with a murderous look. Black robes were climbing up her red garbs and it her hand she held an axe. Opening her mouth just a sliver, she whispered four terrifying words that sent cold shivers down Alice's spine.

"Off with your head."

"Your Majesty!" Alice gasped and backed away. The Queen raised her axe and Alice screamed and turned to run. She bumped into the White Rabbit. He stared at her with panic in his eyes and grabbed her shoulders.

"Alice, run!"

"Rabbit, what's happening?"

"Get out of the house Alice!"

"What?" Before he could answer, a wall of red flames separated them and Rabbit disappeared.

"Rabbit?!"

"Hatter, what are you doing?"

Alice whipped around and saw that the flames had spread throughout the forest and had crept up the walls of Hatter's house. In the shadows cast on the enormous top hat, she saw the silhouette of the Mad Hatter his arms slowly raising a blade into the air.

"Dormouse, run!" Hare shouted frantically, "Get out of here!"

"I can't see anything passed the fire!" Dormouse called back.

"Someone find Alice!" Rabbit's voice sounded miles away.

This was more than Alice could bear. She turned away from the horrid scene and ran.

"Yes Alice!" Rabbit urged, "Keep going, and don't look back!"

Alice hardly heard him; she was more worried about getting home. The fire was following, and gaining pace, along with screams of horror and bloodshed. She suddenly became aware of the tears streaking down her face.

Then she was home. She was lying on the ground of her bedroom, eyes closed. When she opened them, she saw her room ablaze. Alice whirled around and saw that her beloved mirror had fallen… and shattered.

"No…" she breathed. This couldn't be happening. Her mirror, her portal to her own wonderful Wonderland, was gone. No, she wouldn't believe it was happening!

A distressed meow brought her back to reality. She gasped, "Dinah!" Alice scrambled to her feet and searched frantically for her cat. The smoke and heat was beginning to overcome her, she wasn't sure how long she could last before…

"Dinah!" Alice sighed in relief as she found her cat under her bed. The cat clung to Alice with her claws and she winced.

"We have to go, Dinah! Don't worry, everything's fine now!" Alice yelled over the blaze, even though it was more to calm herself than her cat. She burst through her half-burnt door and dashed through the house.

"Mom! Dad!" She screamed. "Where are you?!"

"Run Alice!"

She stopped. That was Rabbit's voice, and it had come from her parents' room. Surely he couldn't have come back with her? Filled with hope and doubt of either her parents or Rabbit being behind the bedroom door, she turned the handle and opened it. What emerged was nothing she could have imagined.

The inside of the room was nothing but darkness. Out of the black surfaced a large, ugly head of a winged monster. Its fangs were huge and its claws ripped open the floor, bringing out more fire. The monster took a deep breath and roared, exhaling a stream of black flames which surrounded Alice. She screamed and Dinah struggled out of her grasp. The monster reared up as if to strike at Alice but she lunged out of the way of its mouth and sprinted to the front door of the house.

The horrible creature followed her. She cried out for her parents.

"Mom! Dad! ......Anybody!"

There was the front door. The abominable monster was nearly feet away from her now, its jaws eager to bite and its claws ready to catch.

Putting all her weight into the wood, Alice slammed into the door. It broke and she found herself flailing through the air and into the snow. She stood and began to run again but only made it a few feet before she collapsed on the ground.

Alice wailed, curled up in the snow, and cried. She could hear the crackling of the burning wood, the sirens of the approaching fire trucks, her parents screams from inside the house, and the monster's roar ringing in her ears.

Then she heard a voice. It was far off and unrecognizable, but she knew it…

_What's wrong Alice?_

_My parents are… gone…_

_What else is wrong Alice?_

_Something's… broken…_

_What's broken Alice?_

Alice looked up and saw the monster burst through the roof of her house. With its jaws open wide, it lunged at her, ready to end her life in that second. She held up her arm in a meager attempt to defend herself. Death would come…

Alice woke abruptly and sat up in her bed. She was crying and her heart was pounding in her chest as if it wanted to burst out. She clutched the sheets and looked around and the familiar white room. All seemed well.

But it wasn't. She had relived that horrible day again and again through her nightmares. Why couldn't it let her go? Why couldn't it leave her alone? It had happened years ago!

Alice climbed out of the bed and stared at her reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall. She reached out with a scarred arm and touched the surface. She pushed on it. She put the other hand on it and pushed harder. Why couldn't she go through? Why couldn't she go back? There must have been more than one mirror!

_What's broken Alice?_

Scowling, Alice punched the mirror again and again until it shattered, leaving her knuckles bloody. Without the missing glass her reflection was incomplete… broken.

"I am."


	2. Ch 1: Something's Broken

It's been quite a while hasn't it? I put some major thought into this story, and came up with many changes as the months past. At last, I feel like I can write this and see to it until the very end. I hope you all enjoy this and don't feel that I'm crazy for mashing these two very different versions of Wonderland together.

* * *

The shattering of the bathroom mirror hadn't disturbed Mary, but when the lamp was turned on, the light called to her attention, and she woke abruptly and her head shot from the pillow.

"What?" She whipped her head around, her mind concocting several ridiculous reasons for the sudden light, "Is it a fire? A tornado? It's a hurricane, isn't it? No, wait!" Mary clutched her pillow and retreated as far as she could to the wall, "It's those damned rats again, come to finish me off! Alice, do you see any?" She searched the dimly lit room with her eyes, expecting some fang-baring monster to jump at her at any moment, but nothing happened. Everything was silent albeit the scratching of pencil-on-paper coming from the desk. It was at this desk that the person who had turned the lamp on sat, faced towards the opposite wall of Mary.

"Alice, are you mad?" Mary exclaimed, "Get to your bed- take shelter from the rats. They'll be all over the floor soon!" By this time, she had convinced herself that an army of evil rodents were waiting for her, somewhere in the shadows, to attack her.

"But there aren't any." Alice didn't even look up or stop moving her pencil.

"Yes there are! They'll be targeting your feet soon, if you don't get them off the floor!"

"Mary, why would there be rats in this room?"

"You know they're all after me."

At this point, Alice set her pencil down and turned around in her chair to face her roommate. In the faint light, Mary could see her outline and her blonde hair which had darkened over the years. It hung loosely around her shoulders. Her eyes and face, however, were very much hidden in the darkness. Her voice was firm. "I promise you, there isn't a single rat in here."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

Mary still wasn't convinced, but Alice felt she had done her job and turned back to her work. There was silence in the room for some time, only broken by quiet mutterings and the scratching of the pencil and crayons coming from the desk. The stillness unnerved Mary, and she began rocking back and forth on her mattress. She didn't like it when Alice drew her pictures. They were often followed by the story of some unworldly dream about that Wonderland place. Even crazy little Mary knew it was unnatural to dream of the same thing every night.

"Do you have to do this now? It must be three in the morning." She dared to lean over the bed to check underneath it. No reply, and no rats. "What was it this time?"

Alice didn't answer at first. She waited until she set down her crayon and held up her paper to the light so Mary could see. It was a crude drawing of mouse inside a teapot, surrounded by flames. In the background were two shadowed figures. One looked like a man with a top hat, and the other seemed to be wearing rabbit ears- either that, or it had crazy hair. The artwork was so poorly done, it was difficult to tell, but Mary was familiar with these characters. They were from Alice's Wonderland-place that she made up. These three weren't the only ones, and they all had been drawn multiple times.

"It was the fire again," Alice said simply. "I was having tea when it started this time-"

"You're _always_ having tea when it starts," Mary pointed out.

"Am I? I guess I forgot. All the more reason for me to draw!" Taking a roll of tape from the desk, Alice stood from her chair and climbed on her bed. The wall she now faced was covered almost completely with her drawings, quick sketches that had been conjured up soon after Alice had awakened, which accounted for most of their sloppiness. After moving some closer together, Alice was able to make a space for her new addition. As she taped it next to the others, she grinned, "It won't be much longer, Mary. I'll have to start on another wall, or the ceiling."

"I wish you'd just take them all down," Mary whined, "At least the ones about the fire. The others are cute, but those scare me."

"No!" Alice turned and held out her arms in protection as though Mary had made to tear down her pictures at that moment, "I need them so I can remember that night."

"Why?"

"Because..." Alice thought it over, and found the reason harder to describe that she had previously thought, "Because I can't afford to forget it. Every time I dream of the fire, it's a new version. I don't know which is the right one, so I have to remember them all. This is the only way I can do that."

"What happened this time, other than the tea?" Mary was afraid to ask, but she knew she'd hear about the dream sooner or later- better to listen to it sooner.

"Well," The other girl sat herself down on bed, "I was having tea, like I said, at a large table with tons of cups and saucers and spoons. And I wasn't alone. They were all there, yes, my friends from Wonderland. We were talking and laughing, then the floating Cat told me to run, but I didn't. Then everything shook and glass was everywhere. Then everything caught on fire!"

Mary couldn't help herself. Her curiosity was piqued, "What about that mouse?"

"He was on the table, in one of the teapots- I'm sure that's where he lives. It seems right, doesn't it?"

"Well... not really. Don't mice live in holes?" She gulped, "Like rats?"

She was ignored.

"Then everyone started screaming, but I couldn't see them. I wanted to run, but I just went around in circles. Then the Rabbit came- I told you about him, right?" Mary wasn't given a chance to answer. "He grabbed me and shook me and told me to wake up. So I did. But I wasn't awake, because I was in my room, but I'm here, and my room is gone, so I couldn't be there. So I must be here, which meant I was still dreaming. Make sense?"

"I guess."

"The fire was in my room too," Alice hadn't even skipped a beat, "And my mirror was shattered. I kept looking for my cat Dinah, but I couldn't find her. So I went downstairs and..." she suddenly became very white, "something was there."

Mary blinked. This was a first. Alice's dreams tended to follow a same general pattern of her going from Wonderland to her burning room, finding the broken mirror, and then running outside into the snow. What happened in the Wonderland portion was always different (except for the tea), but never had there been mention of something happening _inside_ her house.

"What was it?"

Alice shook her head, "I don't know, some kind of monster. It was in my parents' room, I could hear it on the other side of the door. I opened it, hoping to find Mom and Dad on the other side, but instead two large red eyes were in there and it was all dark. More fire came out of the doorway, and so I ran out of the house. I fell into the snow, and when I looked back, that thing had broken through the roof of my house. It was... sort of like a dragon, except it wasn't, and I knew it wasn't. There's another name for it, but I don't know what it is. But I saw the whole thing clearly- its scales, its wings, its claws, those eyes. I've never seen so much detail of something in my dreams. It lunged at me, but something hit it away before it could hurt me. Then I woke up, for real this time."

Mary shuddered at the description of the monster, however vague it was. "I wouldn't want to remember a dream like that."

"I don't really want to either, which is why I'm not drawing that thing. I've never seen it before. Not in this world, and certainly not in Wonderland."

"Maybe it's for the best," Mary teased, "If you drew it, then I'm sure it wouldn't look like anything at all. You're a terrible artist."

Alice had to smile, "How true that is. Oh!" Her hands flew to her mouth. "I said it. I remembered!" She leapt to her feet and began jump up and down repeatedly. The bed springs groaned with complaint every time she landed. "I've been trying to recall what that stupid little phrase was for days! And I just said it! Hah!" She flung herself down onto the bed and began to giggle at seemingly nothing.

"Alice?" Mary pulled her sheet tighter around herself. Her roommate was making her exceedingly uncomfortable.

The giggling grew to a laughing fit. Tears protruded from their glands on Alice's face and poured down the sides of her cheeks. She rolled around and jerked as though someone were tickling her. Whatever she had found so amusing, there was no end to it.

"Alice! Please stop, you're scaring me! It wasn't even that funny!" Forgetting all about the imaginary rats, Mary tore the sheet away from her and ran to Alice. She grabbed her wrists in an attempt to calm her, but she instantly released them at the sight of Alice's bloody hands. She hadn't noticed them earlier. The blood seemed to be coming from her knuckles- like she had been punching something sharp.

"What happened?"

The reply came out in a cough, followed by more laughter, "Something's broken, Mary!"

Now in panic, Mary lunged for the door. She tried the handle, even though she knew it would be locked. It was. She banged on it with the palms of her hands, crying out for help. Meanwhile, Alice was still in her joyful, violent trance.

The ruckus brought two men to Mary's aid. One unlocked the door, and she stood back as they entered the room. She noticed a syringe in one of their hands. As the two attempted to contain Alice, Mary retreated into the bathroom, only to find herself stepping on the shards of the broken mirror. Some had traces of blood on the edges. Right away, she knew Alice had done it. There were many nights when her roommate had stood in front of it, pushing on it, as though trying to go through it. She had hit the mirror every time it didn't let her in, and now she'd finally broken it. Mary gasped and backed into a corner and collapsed on the floor, sobbing. She clasped her hands over her ears.

"I want my own room!" She declared as the needle pierced Alice's skin, "I want my own room! I'd rather face the rats again than spend another night with her!"


End file.
